{"id":2495,"date":"2016-11-21T10:13:56","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T14:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/?p=2495"},"modified":"2017-04-24T11:40:46","modified_gmt":"2017-04-24T15:40:46","slug":"3d-reconstruction-and-medieval-shipwrecks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/2016\/11\/21\/3d-reconstruction-and-medieval-shipwrecks\/","title":{"rendered":"3D Reconstruction and Medieval Shipwrecks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kaelin Jewell<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the last few weeks, news organizations including the\u00a0New York Times<\/a> and National Geographic<\/a>, have reported the discovery of more than forty shipwrecks at the bottom of the Black Sea. All astonishingly well preserved, the wrecks range in date from 9th-century Byzantium to the 17th-century Ottoman Empire and are currently being studied by\u00a0the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project<\/a>\u00a0(M.A.P.), an international team organized by the Centre for Maritime Archaeology<\/a> at the University of Southampton in Britain. In addition to documenting all aspects of these wrecks, archaeologists are creating digital models of them using photogrammetry<\/a>, a process\u00a0that uses computers to stitch together digital photographs of landscapes, buildings, objects, or, in this case, shipwrecks to create 3-dimensional models.\u00a0In recent years, as technology\u00a0has become more and more accessible, archaeologists are turning towards photogrammetry as a useful way of creating digital topographic images of their sites, both above ground and underwater.<\/p>\n

\"Photogrammetric<\/a>
Photogrammetric 3D model of an Ottoman Ship, Image: Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz (EEF\/Black Sea M.A.P.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the underwater site of Marzamemi II<\/a>, located just off the coast of southern Sicily, an international team of scholars is investigating a 6th-century shipwreck, the cargo of which included large pieces of stone architectural sculpture. The fragments include gray-streaked Proconnesian marble columns, capitals, and chancel screens in addition to\u00a0large slabs\u00a0of verde antico\u00a0stone in the shape of an ambo, or pulpit.<\/p>\n

\"Architectural<\/a>
Architectural fragment from Marzamemi II ‘Church Wreck,’ Image \u00a9 Salvo Emma (Soprintendenza del Mare)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The presence of partially-preserved crosses on a few of the chancel fragments along with the distinctive shape of the ambo led the site’s original excavator, Gerhard Kapit\u00e4n, to interpret the cargo as making up the interior architectural sculpture of a ca. sixth-century Christian church.<\/p>\n

\"Verde<\/a>
Verde antico fragment of the ambo (pulpit) from the Marzamemi II “Church Wreck,” Image \u00a9 Marzamemi Maritime Heritage Project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Described by Dr. Justin Leidwanger, director of the Marzamemi Maritime Heritage Project<\/a>\u00a0(MMHP) and Assistant Professor of Classics at Stanford University<\/a>, as a sort of “flat pack” monument, the wreck provides important evidence for the transport of architectural sculpture across the Mediterranean during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527-565 CE), patron of Constantinople’s famous Hagia Sophia.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to chat with Leidwanger about the site, which was reopened in 2013 under the auspices of Stanford University\u00a0and the Soprintendenza del Mare<\/a> in Sicily. Not only is the MMHP’s team interested in documenting and excavating the remains of the shipwreck’s cargo, but they are actively employing photogrammetry and structured light scanning as a way to create digital 3D models of both the site as a whole and the artifacts discovered within its boundaries.<\/p>\n

\"Structure<\/a>
Using Artec<\/a> handheld structure light scanner to digitize architectural fragments from the Marzamemi II “Church Wreck,” Image \u00a9 Leopoldo Repola<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Digital<\/a>
Digital 3D model of architectural fragment from Marzamemi II ‘Church Wreck,’ Image \u00a9 Leopoldo Repola<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"3D<\/a>
3D Printed version of digital model from Marzamemi II ‘Church Wreck,’ Image \u00a9 Leopoldo Repola<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Leidwanger, the MMHP’s use of digital tools “allow us to ask new research questions about the shipwreck cargo, while also opening a world of new possibilities for more meaningful engagement with heritage both locally and globally.”<\/p>\n

I would like to extend my thanks to Justin Leidwanger for generously sharing images of the Marzamemi II\u00a0project. Be sure to check out the Marzamemi\u00a0Maritime Heritage Project’s Facebook page<\/a> for the most recent news regarding this fascinating site!<\/p>\n

\n

Further Reading:<\/p>\n

Kapit\u00e4n, Gerhard. “The Church Wreck off Marzamemi,”\u00a0Archaeology<\/span> 22:2 (1969): 122-133.<\/a><\/p>\n

Kapit\u00e4n Gerhard. “Elementi architettonici per una basilica dal relitto navale del VI secolo di Marzamemi (Siracusa),” Corsi di cultura sull’arte ravennate e bizantina<\/span> 27 (1980): 71-136.<\/p>\n

Leidwanger, Justin and Nicol\u00f2 Bruno. “Marzamemi II ‘Church Wreck’ Excavation: 2013 Field Season,” Archaeologia Maritima Mediterranea<\/span> 10 (2013): 191-198.<\/p>\n

Leidwanger, Justin and Sebastiano Tusa. “Marzamemi II ‘Church Wreck’ Excavation: 2014 Field Season,” Archaeologia Maritima Mediterranea<\/span> 12 (2015): 103-115.<\/p>\n

Leidwanger, Justin and Sebastiano Tusa. “Marzamemi II ‘Church Wreck’ Excavation: 2015 Field Season,” Archaeologia Maritima Mediterranea<\/span> 13 (2016): 129-143.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kaelin Jewell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5602,"featured_media":2538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[181,174],"class_list":["post-2495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grad-students","tag-archaeology","tag-photogrammetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5602"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/tudsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}